


Comatose

by carzla



Series: Comatose [1]
Category: Beyblade
Genre: Angst, Coma, Gen, Male Friendship, Near Death Experience, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-07
Updated: 2012-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-29 03:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/315143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carzla/pseuds/carzla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I’m floating in this sea of blackness... Confined in my mind, in the world of endless dreams... even nightmares. Why? I have to get out. I need to get out! Why? Why is this happening...? I can hear everything that’s happening out there. I’m not fully unconscious! So why can’t I wake up then? Somebody... Wolborg... Help me!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2005, i.e. a very long time ago. Also written before I had watched any episode of G-Revolution and thus things might be a little different from canon.

Garland smirked across the bey dish at me. He knew something big was going to happen next… And somehow, I knew that both of us know that I wouldn’t be smiling at the outcome. I’m already on my last tethers, if Apollo were to pull off something huge I don’t think I’ll be able to take it.

Wait. What am I thinking? Stop having negative thoughts, Tala! You have to win this! You have to stop Garland from winning or the world won’t be safe! Struggling to stay upright, I glared across at Garland, scowling at him.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded through teeth gritted in pain, annoyance and the determination not to let Garland see me weak.

Garland’s smirk grew wider and in an irritatingly calm tone, he replied smoothly, “Oh nothing really… Just that your pathetic attempts to defeat me are laughable. Let me show you some real power!”

I let out a low growl, sounding extremely wolfish and feral even to my own ears. I have a nature of an alpha male wolf – and wolves don’t take threats lying down.

Then I noticed that Garland was beginning to have an unearthly shade of glowing red surrounding him. Apollo’s power was radiating off his master visibly. Wolborg and I had withstood that power before. We had to do it again though I knew that the chances of having a comeback afterwards were low… _very_ low. A halo of bright red surrounded Garland’s yellow blade as it rushed towards my gray one. This was it, the decider.

 _Stand your ground, Wolborg!_ I thought, not bothering to yell out the command as I was channeling all the remaining worth of my energy into Wolborg and my blade.

“Finish him off, Apollo!” Garland commanded with a flick of his hand and a smug look on his face, “ **RADIENT THUNDER!** ” I would’ve growled in annoyance at his expression if not for my lack of energy.

A red force field began to extend rapidly from Apollon and at the crunching hit against Wolborg, I felt a sharp pain erupting up my spine and traveling through it to my whole body. The shock of the crushing blow and the unbearable pain added up to great amounts and it closed my throat, as white flashed before my eyes and a deafening sound filled my ears. I felt myself moving out of my own accord. I was flying backwards, undoubtedly due to the explosion. I heard loud, but jumbled noises, which I guess were shouts… explosions… or maybe even the cracking of my own bones… I don’t know. The world was just a hazy blur of white, gray and the colors of the rainbow. I could feel shards of something cutting my flesh, and I prayed with the last bit of coherence I could find in my mind that it was not the remains of my Wolborg blade.

Darkness claimed me…

* * *

 _“Tala! Tala! Wake up! Tala!? Don’t scare me!”_

Who’s that calling me? That voice sounds vaguely familiar… I’ve heard it somewhere before, a memory from two years ago…

 _“Tala! It’s Tyson! Wake up!”_

Tyson? Kinomiya? That loud-mouthed kid? Yes… that’s it. I can hear clearly now… he’s trying to wake me up, but aren’t I already awake? There’re others around too… Kenny, Max, Daichi and even Hilary. It’s still so dark, why can’t I see? Oh right. My eyelids. I… I’ve got to open my eyes. All right Tala, count to three. On three, open your eyes. You can do it.

One.

Two.

Three.

A hazy image of an adolescent boy’s face swam into view.

“Tala! Are you okay?” Tyson was peering down at me, concern fully visible in his eyes.

Concern… it’s so foreign coming from him, if it were Bryan or Spencer, I’d have found it less strange. At least they had known me for a longer time than Tyson and we had been through so much more together. We had grown up together. Why was Tyson concerned about me? We never really were friends… unless he still held on to that slight bond made two years ago… Even though I had been so cold to him when we first met… even when I said all those things about him now? He is so naïve to think that we’re friends. Doesn’t he get it that on the Beyblading arena; your opponent will always be the enemy? He really hasn’t seen the harshness of life much. But perhaps… that’s a good thing.

More voices joined in.

“Terrible! The match must have taken too much out of him! Tala, he’ll have to go to the hospital immediately!”

Kenny. Definitely him. Who could be ever so analytical all the time? Yet he did sound frantic and… there it was again: Concern. But why? He was ever so afraid of me then and now.

“Garland will pay! He needs a real thrashing for what’s he’s done!”

Daichi. Hotheaded as ever. The boy needs to learn how to keep calm. No doubt, he’s not a bad Beyblader. But I guess he’ll never hear me saying that to him. And yet again, I could sense some sort of worry the red-haired boy had towards me. This is getting confusing. Why does he care? We never were good friends. Check that. We aren’t even friends. Just fellow Beybladers.

“Don’t worry Tala! We’ll make sure that Garland won’t get away with this. You have to concentrate on getting better, okay?”

Max. Bright, cheerful and sunny. Even at a time like this. Sometimes I wonder if I’d ever want to be in his presence. Being in the dark and cold for so long, Max was a little too much for me to handle. But it was kind of soothing now… somehow…

“Kenny! Don’t just stand there! Call an ambulance! Oh Tala, you’ll be fine. Hang in there!”

Hilary. They say girls are easily read. I can’t agree more, but… the worry in Hilary’s voice is really strange. I thought she hated me because of that incident with Kai leaving the Bladebreakers. But… The abbey has really shut me out from the outside world. Having contacts with females were virtually unheard off. Scratch that. It wasn’t even possible. No male, adult or not, dared to venture into the abbey without permission, much less girls, and nobody could venture out of it. All except…

I felt Tyson move, shattering my train of thought that was going down memory lane. Shit! He was going to take me away from BEGA Headquarters. Panic flooded me, intensifying the pain that I already felt stabbing all over me. But I couldn’t leave yet! Not until somebody here knew about Boris’ true motive! That purple-haired freak has got to be stopped! I had the impression that the others were beginning to think that Boris hadn’t turned over a new leaf, but I had to be sure.

Lifting my left hand was a painful process. My hands were starting to become numb but for what reason, I don’t know. But I managed the ‘feat’ and tugged at Tyson’s red jacket feebly to catch his attention. I was really weak. And it was a feeling I hated… Despised.

When his dark auburn eyes met mine, I said as loudly as I could, which was only a whisper at the most, “Wait… not yet… I-I’ve got something… to tell… you…”

I sound pathetic. My voice sounds scratched, like a croak, and speaking actually _hurts_. If not for the fact that I had to stop the world from succumbing to a possible cruel dictatorship, I would’ve stopped speaking right now. Wait, I wouldn’t even be speaking at all. I paused for a while to stop the pain in my throat before continuing. I needed to get this out fast though.

“Boris is planning another… t-takeover. He’s lying… about turning… o-over a new… leaf. Don’t listen to him… Don’t join BEGA. H-he got out… of jail b-by blaming… everything o-on V-Voltaire. You have to stop… him… Promise me t-that…”

It really hurt now; I could feel the pain intensifying on an electric level. Black spots were starting to eat away my already hazy vision from the sides of my eyes. The voices were once again becoming a jumbled mess, but I managed to hear Tyson’s promise through everything else.

“I promise. I _will_ stop him. That creep won’t be taking over anything while we’re all standing!”

I offered him a small “thank-you” smile, when somehow, through all that blurriness, my eyes caught a flash of purple followed by trailing white. Kai. Our gazes locked. He’s the last Blitzkrieg Boy left standing… he knows about Boris’ aims… and I’m sure he’ll stop that creep. Kai’s intentions were never all that in favor of the team when he rejoined… But he was a valuable blader… I gave him a smile too, and somehow it may be the last one he’ll ever see me giving him…

My eyelids are turning heavier by the second… My breaths are turning ragged… I can’t draw in much more air… I-I can’t hold on much longer… My fingers released their hold on Tyson’s jacket and my hand fell back, hanging limply by my side. The last thing I saw and heard was Tyson… Wanting me to… s-stay… awake…

* * *

“Tala! Tala!” Tyson yelled frantically, as he watched the Russian redhead’s eyelids shut and his smirk disappear at the same moment.

He tried shaking Tala. Unfortunately, nothing he did gained a positive reaction. The others soon joined in, calling for Tala to wake up, hoping against all hope that Tala would open his eyes and shoot a sarcastic remark at them for fussing over him. _Any_ remark. It could even be insulting; they didn’t care anymore. The Russian redhead could not lose consciousness!

Just then, the paramedics rushed in with a stretcher and some other medical supplies. Tyson and the others watched with immense worry in their eyes, as Tala was rapidly and expertly strapped onto the stretcher and wheeled away to an ambulance that was waiting outside. With the siren screeching furiously, the ambulance drove away, rushing the badly injured Beyblader to the hospital for immediate treatment.

Everyone had misunderstood the Blitzkrieg Boys’ reason to return to the World Championships. They knew about Boris’ plan, and were planning to stop it. And what did the whole world think? The Blitzkrieg Boys were up to no good again. He even thought Kai had betrayed the Bladebreakers to join Tala’s team again for seemingly no reason. The ones at fault were not they, but everyone else in the Beyblading World – him included. It was not until now, until he saw how Tala was fighting against Garland, did he actually realize that Tala and the Blitzkrieg Boys had a good intention.

Tyson gave a very unlikely growl. With his fists clenched by his sides and his eyes flashing with both anger and determination, Tyson made a silent vow that Garland would pay dearly for injuring Tala in that brutal Bey Battle. And he would be the one dealing the damage. Boris’ plan would never go through.

He’d make sure of that – personally.


	2. Voices

Where am I? I feel like I’m… floating, floating in this sea of black. Why is it so dark? Why am I here? A-Am I…? Wait; wait! Cool it Tala. Keep calm. This is not a time to panic. Yeah, right… and I can feel my heart pounding like crazy in my chest. Oh no, I’m so _not_ panicking. Well, at least my sarcasm hasn’t failed me.

But I feel so featherlike, so light, am I even alive? Am I even in reality? What happened before?

Waaait a minute. Garland… Apollon… It’s all coming back now. That battle I lost. I, I remember now, and come to think of it, busting into BEGA headquarters wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do. Landing Bryan and Spencer injured wasn’t exactly on my mind and neither was getting myself into _this_ state. Whatever this is.

But at least Tyson knows what’s happening now. At least he would help, along with the other Beybladers… Hopefully.

 _Beep… beep… beep…_

What’s that sound? It sounds so distant and faraway, yet I can still hear it.

 _Beep… beep… beep…_

A clinical smell wafts through to me. _Clinical smell?_ Am I in the hospital? But then why can’t I see anything in the ward? Things like whitewashed walls, medical equipment and the likes. It’s like I’m existing in two different worlds simultaneously. I can hear the sounds and sense the smells, but I’m still trapped in here, wherever _here_ is. That means that beeping sound could be the machine monitoring my heart rate. Goodness, this sounds really weird even to myself.

What exactly is happening? This place is like a dream… No, a nightmare would be more apt. It’s not only eternally dark, but cold too. A cold that sears right through to my bones and touches my inner core. Yes, I’m used to the cold, the frosty winds. But this is too much for me to take… it’s the kind of coldness I feel around, around Boris!

 **ARGH!** This man haunts me wherever I go, wherever I am! I thought I was finally moving on after two years of freedom… Grr! I’ve _got to_ stop thinking about him and how he affects me. It is just not healthy.

“Are you now, Tala?”

No… nononono! This can’t be. W-What is he doing here? That sickeningly smooth and silky voice of, of…

“Yes, Tala. It _is_ your old teacher here.”

I’m dreaming. I’m hallucinating. He’s not here; he’s not! I refuse to believe that he’s here. It’s just my mind making this up. He. Is. Not. Here. Repeat, Tala. He. Is. Not. Here.

 _Beep… beep! Beep… beep! Beep!_

“I see that you’re in denial. How amusing. Why don’t you turn around and see if I’m here or not?”

Turn around? I guess it’s a solution, but can I actually move in here? Tentatively, I try to move what I suppose was my feet, when they somehow materialized in front of me and… By goodness! I can now see my whole body as if… Oh never mind! I’ll worry about that later. All right Tala, just turn around and prove to yourself that your mind has suddenly obtained and over-imaginative nature.

“ _ **Over-imaginative**_ mind?” the voice mocked.

Seeing that slick, disgusting purple hair, the strange but signature purple and red visor of Boris almost brought my heart to a stop, before it started a fast-paced tribal dance in my ribs. No! I refuse to believe this. I will not panic. I will not panic. This is all my imagination. An illusion. My mind hasn’t rested from the battle against Garland. That’s all. I will not panic.

 _Beeeeep…… Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!!!!_

“Ah yes, Garland. That was one intense battle wasn’t it? It saddens me to see that you and the other Demolition Boys so foolishly tried to stop my plans… But as you have obviously seen, my new team is much better than the previous.” Boris gave a sick, twisted laugh and his mouth curled into a nasty leer.

“I’m not a Demolition Boy!” I snarled back at him and gave him the frostiest glare I could muster, all fear momentarily forgotten at being reminded of the past. “That name’s yours, so you can have it back!”

Still, if this was just a dream, how come the way Boris was acting was so alike how he would if it were real…? Hell no! It’s not real! I just have too good a memory for my liking. It’s _not, not_ real!

 _Beep! Beep!! Beep!!!!!_

“Oh yes, it slipped my mind… You’re a _Blitzkrieg Boy_ now.”

“You bet I am! I have nothing to do with you anymore, you might as well leave now!” My glare had now intensified, and I was pouring every single bit of hatred and venom I felt towards the man into the gaze I had.

“Tsk, tsk! Where are your manners, Tala? Don’t you remember anything about respecting your elders?” Boris didn’t seem the least bit affected by my glare.

“I know who to respect and who not to. You belong to the latter group, Boris,” I replied frostily as I felt my heart hammering in my chest despite my mask of coldness.

Boris was getting to me and I felt like suffocating. That man has this effect on me almost every time. Worse, he seemed to be looming closer and closer every second. Boris gave a twisted smile. I blinked twice. H-How? How did he suddenly appear so close to me? Shit!

“I’m dismayed. To think that I’ve always thought that you were amongst the elite…”

Boris reached out a hand towards me. No! Not that again! I never want those filthy hands touching me again! Out of desperation, I yelled the first name that came to mind:

“WOLBORG!”

To my immense relief and some surprise, a flash of ice blue appeared in front of me and from it, Wolborg materialized, putting some distance between Boris and I. Boris withdrew his hand immediately. The wolf spirit snarled and snapped threateningly at Boris, daring him to come closer. I felt much more at ease with Wolborg by my side. And with that, my confidence returned and I smirked at Boris. It was time to end his little visit.

 _Beep… Beep… Beep! Beep! Beep…_

“Wolborg, you know what to do,” I said calmly, my eyes never leaving the man that brought me, Bryan, Spencer and Ian misery throughout our time in the abbey and out of it. Even though it probably isn’t the real person, I’d gain much satisfaction in watching him being destroyed anyway. Sadistic? Nope. The sadistic one is Boris. Not me. Besides, the man deserves it.

Wolborg reacted immediately at my command, dashing towards Boris, leaving a trail of snow, ice and blanketing frost as he went. More and more of the blackness turned into clear, solid ice and as Wolborg slammed into Boris, snarling and snapping in fury, the man was frozen solid, an expression of fear – for once – on his face. Well, well, it was high time for some of _his_ payback. With a nonchalant flick of my hand, Wolborg cracked the ice so forcefully that Boris disappeared along with the ice shards. Finally. He was gone. I felt like adding a mocking goodbye, unfortunately it was a bit too late for that. I settled for a satisfied smirk instead.

As Wolborg returned to my side, he gently nuzzled my neck and I stroked him. My heartbeat was back to normal now. I couldn’t help but smile as Wolborg licked me tenderly on the side of my face. He was a fearless alpha male when battling together with me, but sometimes, he could be affectionate too. Wolborg was about the only being that I would accept any form of affection from. It was always nice to have a close, loyal friend.

‘I’m flattered, master.’

A rare grin broke out on my face. Wolborg sounded like he was teasing yet sincere at the same time. ‘You should be. I don’t give praises often,’ I teased as I sat down, leaning against the cool warmth of Wolborg’s body, enjoying it immensely. Then turning serious, I asked, ‘Wolborg, do you think you can get me out of here?’

The great wolf shook his head, his golden eyes regretful at being unable to help. ‘I’m sorry master. You have to rest.’

‘…I understand. But where am I exactly? I know it sounds absurd, but I think I’m in my subconscious mind…’

‘Yes, you are. Your real self cannot move or respond although you can hear everything that goes on outside as distant sounds. Do not worry, master. Boris will be stopped. Others are doing their part as we speak.’

* * *

I don’t know how long it has been. It could’ve been days; it could’ve been just an hour. I haven’t quite grasped the concept of time here… Yet the landscape in my mind is still the same. The same darkness, though the cold had turned bearable (thanks to Wolborg) and lastly, there was just the ice formed when Wolborg attacked ‘Boris’. Wolborg was a comforting presence even though he wasn’t always with me in physical form. Just knowing he was near comforted me.

 _Creak! Creak! Shuffle… shuffle…_

Huh? That definitely didn’t come from my mind, which would only mean… Somebody is in the hospital ward.

 _Shuffle… shuffle…_

Make that more than somebody.

 _“Oh my… he’s so… How can someone be so brutal?” a voice muttered, sounding shocked, confused and angry at the same time._

 _“Especially somebody trained in martial arts. Garland **should** know how to control what he was doing,” another voice added._

I have visitors. Oh wow. What a surprise. And the voices don’t sound very familiar, and one’s a female voice too. Double surprise. And I don’t think it’s a fan girl or a group of them… the hospital wouldn’t allow it anyway. Triple surprise then. Who are these people? Beybladers?

 _Shuffle… Scrape!_

 _“Unless he was under orders,” someone else said with a half-snarl._

Now this voice sounds a tad bit more familiar. It sounds like… Ray. Ray Kon. Which would, could only mean that it was the White Tigers X in my ward… _Visiting me._ I think I would’ve done a double take visible to them if I could. The _White Tigers X_ was visiting me. And I thought they detested the Blitzkrieg Boys after what happened in Russia two years ago; they were certainly quite hostile when we met again this year. Time really changes people. Or perhaps this incident changed their views about us Blitzkrieg Boys. Either way, it sounds like a good thing. Right?

 _“It’s ironic, isn’t it, Ray? Two year ago, you were in the hospital after your battle against Bryan. And now… Tala’s the one in a coma,” a voice of a younger male said. “Do you think its retribution?”_

 _“Kevin,” Ray hissed menacingly, “This is nothing to joke about. The past should be left as what it is – the past.”_

Did I hear correctly? Or did my ears malfunction after being in a coma for who knows how long? Ray was _defending_ me… indirectly? I can’t believe it. It’s… it’s so unlikely. Bryan hurt Ray pretty bad, though not until he landed in a coma. But I still thought that the Chinese teen would harbor some sort of dislike towards us, mainly Bryan… But that doesn’t seem to be case now. Sometimes people can be _soooooooooo_ confusing. And I don’t like to be confused, though I like twisting others’ emotions to my advantage.

 _“And they were under Boris’ control, remember?” Ray continued. “Now that the whole Beyblading community is against Boris, that slime ball won’t succeed.”_

 _“We won’t let him succeed!” Mariah added, her voice hard with determination._

The corners of my mouth turned up slightly, though I believe my real physical self couldn’t move a muscle at all.

It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in this anymore.

* * *

 _Creak! Shuffle… shuffle… Creak!_

Another visit. Since when did I become so popular with the Beyblading community? One other purpose for joining the World Championships was to set our reputations straight… Seems like it’s working now. But isn’t it strange? It takes one to be injured for a good, but previously unknown, cause for others to believe that you’re not evil. Sometimes fiction and reality don’t have that much of a difference.

 _“He’s hurt so badly!” a female voice exclaimed softly._

 _“You should’ve seen the battle,” another voice, this time a male one, muttered through gritted teeth. “It was brutal.”_

Isn’t that Emily and Max? So the All-Starz team is here. This is the most surprising of the lot. Emotions – bad ones mainly – ran high both times we met in competition, this year and two years ago. Especially this year. People can be so confusing. I guess I can understand why Max came; he was there at the battle. He had heard what I told Tyson. Did one battle change the views of the whole world? Even the views of people who hated my team and me right to the core? I guess actions do speak louder than words. Nobody would believe us if I had announced our intention to stop BEGA from world domination. Not that I would’ve… Then Boris would get away scot-free. Again.

 _“It’s all the cause of that slimy, purple-haired bastard of a human Boris. How did he get out of jail?” a voice proclaimed in a low, vicious voice._

 _“He has his ways… I’ll bet you my prized basketballs on this.”_

Michael. Eddy. Surprise, surprise again. I thought both of them were just arrogant jocks, thought they just concentrated on their sports and nothing else. Seems like everyone has another side to him or her. I was judgmental of them, and they judged me too. We’re quits now. I just wish they could know that. I won’t be able to tell them face-to-face. My pride wouldn’t take it too well. Heh.

 _“Hey, Emily. How’s Tala’s Wolborg blade?” Max asked._

 _“Kenny and I are working to create a new blade for him. Tala’s really lucky; Wolborg’s bit-chip didn’t shatter. When he wakes up, he’ll have a brand new Wolborg waiting for him.”_

 _“Hey! What about us?” Eddy asked teasingly._

 _“Well, I don’t see your Beyblade smashed into smithereens!”_

* * *

I guess a few days have definitely passed. Bryan and Spencer have been in the ward for almost the whole time, only leaving after the night visiting hours or for lunch and dinner. I wonder if their injuries have healed. I guess so. They’ve always been fast healers, like me. Though I think being in a coma takes more time to recover. Other than Bryan and Spencer, Mr. Dickinson has been dropping in frequently too, which is rather surprising. The old man has no relation to any Blitzkrieg Boy whatsoever and now that he’s no longer the President of the BBA and has virtually no stand in the political world of Beyblading, in my opinion, it gives him much less reason to care about the welfare of any Beyblader. But he still does. He’s done so much for the teams.

Well, I know it’s lunchtime now. Courtesy of Bryan and Spencer for announcing almost all their moves to me. And they still think I can’t hear them. Oh well. But I’ve learnt quite a bit from their conversations with each other and with me too. I guess the doctor told them speaking to a person in a coma helps them awaken in a shorter time. I don’t know if it applies for my case. I estimate that almost a week has passed by now. I’ve had more visits from the White Tigers X, the All-Starz and the Bladebreakers over the span of time. F-Dynasty came for a short while once, I think. And frankly, I’m surprised that Bryan is quite cordial to everyone who comes, considering there was once when the White Tigers X, the All-Starz and the Bladebreakers all appeared at the same time in their lively, noisy mass that definitely would’ve been too much for Bryan to take. Maybe even Spencer too.

 _Creak! Creak! Shuffle… Shuffle…_

 _“Hey Tala! It’s Tyson and Daichi here!”_

 _“Yeah! How’re you doing?”_

I smiled slightly, or at least the person in my mind smiled. I’m beginning to realize that those two aren’t as irritating as before. Sure, they’re still loud-mouthed, but they’re beginning to know when to speak and when not to. Tyson’s matured and changed from that thirteen-year-old two years ago, that much I can tell. As for Daichi… I guess this BEGA incident might have caused him to become a tiny bit more mature. Stress: I _guess_. But they won’t have the satisfaction of hearing that from me. Even if I wake up.

Some things shouldn’t be changed.

Ever.

 _“Kenny and Emily have finished designing and constructing your Beyblade. They’re test running it now. When they finish testing and sorting out any flaws, we’ll leave it by your bedside,” Tyson said._

 _“It’s better than before! And when you start using it, I want another battle with you!” Daichi proclaimed determinedly._

There was a strangely uncomfortable silence in the room following Daichi’s words. Usually when Tyson and Daichi both came together – alone or not – they’d rattle on and on about anything under the sun, which I find rather amusing actually. They would even start quarreling sometimes. They are that competitive with each other, especially in the food and beyblading aspects. But today, there seemed to be something bothering the two of them. I wonder what…

 _“Eh, Tala… we’re leaving Dranzer here, by your pillow. Kai’s disappeared since his lost to Brooklyn. His blade was totally destroyed… shattered, and we’ve, well Kenny to be precise, made a new one for him. I… we don’t know where exactly to find him, so we’ve decided to leave the new Dranzer blade here,” Tyson said, stuttering slightly, trying to control the emotion in his voice._

Kai.

Lost.

Disappeared.

 _  
**What?!**   
_

_“We know Kai’s injured too, badly injured in fact… But he disappeared from the hospital that very night. W-we just hope he would come to visit you… after all, you **are** his team captain…” Tyson trailed off._

 _“And… uh… just to let you know… we’ve agreed to a five on five battle against BEGA. It starts two days later, and we… we hope that Kai would come and… rejoin us in the battle against BEGA,” he added._

 _“Yeah. Don’t worry, Tala. We’ll kick BEGA’s sorry butt. They don’t stand a chance against us!” Daichi included at the end._

I was barely paying attention by the end of it all. Was this why nobody mentioned him whenever anybody came to visit me? Was it why his name never cropped up whenever any one spoke to me? But just because he had disappeared did not mean he had disappeared from everyone’s memory. As much as I don’t seem to like Kai, we did grow up together and we had some friendship from the past. Just that everything became ruined after the first Black Dranzer incident. Subsequent events just made it all the worse.

Although I could not see Tyson, I can still at least guess that he’s probably holding back tears. As much as Tyson would not admit it openly now, I believe that he still looks up to Kai as a role model despite all the betrayal and such. And Kai was, and still is, his friend.

But why put it here? Would Kai really come? I know why he rejoined the Blitzkrieg Boys. It definitely wasn’t because he liked the team; we were probably chosen because of our skills in the Beyblading arena and also because we’re from Russia. And so is Kai. He just wanted to win the World Championships and take the World Champion title away from Tyson. He knows that we want to win the tournament too… and so he rejoined us. It’s as simple as that. He probably doesn’t even care about the team at all; even after all we’ve been through during the tournament.

But strangely, I don’t regret his return. He was, frankly, brilliant in the tournament. Contrary to what others think, I don’t hate him. Though I don’t necessarily like him all the time either. We’ve always clashed in certain situations, both in the present and in the past. Fire and Ice will never get along perfectly.

But it’s strange, you know. It’s like only when your life is uncertain and the future is hazy, do you realize things that you never did when you were healthy and moving about…

Well, Tyson, you’ll have to pray that Kai does come to see his ‘team captain’.

Just don’t bet on it.

* * *

 _C-c-creak-k… Shuffle…_

I yawned, or the ‘me’ in my subconscious mind yawned. Being a relatively light sleeper (no big thanks to the Abbey), even a tiny bit of noise could wake me up. And this visitor – whoever he was – wasn’t being loud by any means. It was probably late at night, and way past visiting hours. I was beginning to grasp the concept of reality time in my eternally dark subconscious. There’s not even a slightest ray of sunshine here to indicate day or night. I’ve got to rely on my instincts…

Back to the point here: Who could this person be?

 _Shuffle…_

And he’s not speaking or making much noise either. So, I have a silent visitor for once. A silent, night visitor… I’ve got to stop imagining things. Tala Ivanov, calm down! You are becoming overly paranoid nowadays! First it was a fake Boris and now, **this**. You’re in a hospital. A hospital… It’s safe here. It’s probably just the doctor or the nurse coming to check on you. They frequently do that, don’t you remember?

‘It isn’t the medical staff, master.’ Wolborg appeared next to me and I absentmindedly stroked the wolf, still thinking about who the visitor could be.

‘Then…’

I was cut short as I felt and heard a distant shifting movement next to my head… the first sounds of it since about a day… That someone was removing the Dranzer Beyblade! I tensed. Then there was a distant feel of a slight rise in the ward’s temperature, meaning that Dranzer had responded to whomever it was that took the blade. And the only person that could make Dranzer respond in such a way could only be…

‘Yes, master. It is the young phoenix,’ Wolborg filled in for me, ‘Kai has reclaimed Dranzer.’

 _“Dranzer…”_

That’s Kai’s voice all right, although it’s a deathly pale shadow of his usually quiet but strong, commanding tone. He must be still injured. Wolborg nuzzled my hand in agreement.

 _“BEGA will pay… and Boris will be behind bars – for good,” Kai declared quietly._

Was he talking to me or to himself?

 _“You’ll wake up to see it happen, Tala… I promise.”_

 _Swish… Shuffle… C-creak-k…_

 _…_


	3. Awaken

My mind has been in a mind-boggling whirl since that late night visit and for once, I’ve lost track of the time. I think somebody has visited me… and still is… There seems to be somebody in the ward now… and I think the TV’s on… I’m not sure… I don’t remember if the doctors have come in today, or yesterday… The only thing I can remember clearly was, was that Kai had visited me…

But I still can’t quite grasp the fact that he _did_ come… and that he was actually concerned – in his indirect manner – about me. We are teammates, but that doesn’t mean that he would definitely care about me, or the other two. Respect us? In his own indifferent way, yes… But caring takes a whole different meaning to respecting.

However, it seemed that I had no more time to ponder about this problem, or whatever it was. For some reason unknown to me, the landscape in front of me changed. And instead of blackness, I saw different colors starting to emerge out of the monotone of black. They were like appearing out of nowhere as black was often associated with emptiness and nothingness. The next thing I knew, I was staring frozen in shock at the scene that the colors had formed before me.

* * *

 _Kai Hiwatari stood facing the now totally destroyed dish. One Beyblade was still spinning, and it was a blue one – Dranzer. The opposing black blade was battered and had parts of its components, namely the attack ring, cracked off. It lay motionless in front of an orange-haired teenager who was kneeling on the platform and staring at his blade in disbelief._

 _The bruised and battered slate-haired teenager raised his hand upwards in a sign of victory. The BBA Revolutions Team cheered, whistled and yelled his name, as did the crowd watching. It was almost as if he had single-handedly won the Justice 5 tournament. They were ballistic with excitement for they knew that the BBA Revolutions team was now back on a winning track._

 _But there was sadness in those brilliant amethyst eyes as they stared down at the spinning blue blade that was beginning to wobble on its tip._

 _And behind it, **immense regret**._

* * *

The images blanked out. What was that that I had seen? Was it real? Daichi, or perhaps it was Tyson, had mentioned to me about a battle against BEGA. Was this one of the matches? It seems so real… but how did I…? And the thing that shocked me most… Kai looked liked he was about to lose his life. No, something even more precious than that. He was regretting something. I know it; I sense it.

But Kai never regrets anything he does.

Not even with the Black Dranzer incidents.

 _That_ scared me. His regret. Call me a psycho, whatever you please, but telling me that Kai Hiwatari was unsure of his actions **and** regretted doing them was way worse than telling me the Sun was going to explode this very moment and wipe out the entire solar system as it did so. Kai was always so sure of himself, so confident that it turned into arrogance… The way he did things was like he didn’t have a care in the world. He made everything he did look so easy, so graceful, so faultless… That I can’t bring myself to believe that he, the oh-so-perfect Kai Hiwatari, ever felt bad after doing something.

So what was it that caused him to feel that way?

But it seemed that once again, my mind wouldn’t let me ponder over this as colors started forming like before. Another scene appeared before me, leaving me in stupefied shock yet again…

* * *

 _Tyson led the BBA Revolutions Team as they ran forward towards the bey dish where Kai was now coming down. Smiles and grins were present on each and every one of their faces. They were now even closer to stopping Boris’s plans!_

 _Kai walked down slowly from the raised platform towards his teammates, a tiny smile on his face. For a split second, his eyes turned blank and lifeless and his knees suddenly gave as a soft but pained cry escape his mouth. He stumbled and fell forwards. Instead of feeling the hard stadium floor, he crashed into a body clad in a red jacket who caught hold of him. It was Tyson._

 _“Kai! Kai!?” Tyson asked frantically, worriedly._

 _The rest of the team gathered around Kai, worriedly asking whether he was okay and such. Slowly, Kai stood up by himself and reassured, “I’m fine.”_

 _Then to Tyson, he said, “I’ve done my part. Go take down Garland.”_

* * *

The images vanished like before. Kai was worse than fine. It was plainly obvious. He just didn’t want the team to worry, especially Tyson. Well, the kid _had_ a match coming up. But Kai had almost _fallen_ there. It just wasn’t right. Even after his match against Ray and Tyson, which were the two most intense matches he ever had, Kai was still able to walk away without any problem. I still remember that I almost thought he had to be kidding us… He made it look so easy to walk away like that then. Like the battle had been so effortless he didn’t need help to move. Which wasn’t exactly true of course. But he had the willpower to show no weakness…

Something has to be wrong. Kai would never ever show weakness in front of _anybody_ , not even his friends. And those cuts under his eyes made him look like they were blood tears… Well, something _will_ be wrong if what I saw was really happening now at the stadium. Which in itself was incredible and virtually illogical. I was in a coma and stuck in a hospital ward for goodness sakes! How could I know what was happening outside of the ward? Much less the hospital!

But somehow, it feels real… I think it _is_ real. Call it a gut feeling, but yes, I know it’s real. I need answers. Evidence. Proof.

A flash of misty blue appeared next to me and Wolborg materialized. Good. I could ask Wolborg about those images. He could find some way to get to Dranzer or any of the BBA Revolutions’ bit-beasts to determine whether they were real.

‘Wolborg, could-’ I started to ask, but I was interrupted by Wolborg’s strangely melancholy voice.

‘It is real, master.’

My breath hitched. What! Now this was bad. Very, very bad. Alarm bells were ringing in my head and I could feel my heart starting to pound rapidly. Damn it! Couldn’t it have been a dream? Everything would’ve been much easier. I don’t know why I’m so alarmed and panicking when I know I can’t possibly do anything to help. Hell! Why _should_ I care anyway? Kai never exactly cared for the team. But I am the Blitzkrieg Boys’ team captain. I am responsible for whatever happens to the members. Yes, that’s why I’m in a frenzy, worrying about Kai even… Or am I wrong? Or-

‘Calm down, master. You’ll affect the rate of your recovery if you continue to panic.’

Wolborg had a point. But… ‘How can I calm down at a time like this! Something’s wrong, Wolborg! I know it. I feel it in my bones as cliché as it sounds. Something bad is going to happen. I need to get out of here **now**!’

‘I am sorry, master. But I am helpless-’

‘In what way? Helping me regain consciousness or whatever that’s wrong?’ I demanded harshly. I was strangely on my last tethers, any longer I would snap. This was so unusual of me. I knew that. But I… I had the feeling that somebody, **Kai** , would _die_ if I didn’t wake up in time.

 _Beep! Beep!! Beep!!! Beep!!!!_

Wolborg evaded my question. Instead, the wolf spirit replied solemnly, ‘Dranzer wishes to speak with you. She is coming soon.’

What? Dranzer wanted to speak to me? For what? I was sure she could sense that something was wrong with Kai. Why would she come to see me when obviously Kai needed her presence a lot more than I did? Then there was a flash of red and Dranzer appeared.

And I was taken aback.

 **Totally.**

Dranzer looked nothing like she was during her battles. As much as I’d never outright admit that Dranzer was a majestic and beautiful phoenix (especially in front of Kai), I knew I had thought that throughout the time I had seen the phoenix. Her eyes especially were the most entrancing things about the spirit beast; the fire in them was always burning in a luminescent reddish-gold.

But now, she looked a pale shadow of her usual battle form. The flames in her eyes were barely visible… and the wounds on her body… I don’t even know where to begin to describe them. She also looked hazy… like she wasn’t really here. And lastly, the glowing red aura surrounding Dranzer was faint and it seemed to be diminishing by the second.

‘Dranzer? W-What, no, why are you here? Kai needs you now,’ I managed out; still getting over my shock at seeing the state Dranzer was in.

‘Kai has a message for you. That is why I am here,’ the phoenix spirit responded in a soft, cooing voice that was tinged with sorrow.

‘A message? For me?’ I repeated incredulously. Kai had something to tell _me_. Of all people. At this critical moment. Wha? This was _unreal_.

‘Yes,’ Dranzer affirmed with a nod of her head. Then she continued sadly, ‘Kai apologizes for his unfaithfulness to the team. He knows it is now too late to make amends… Lastly, he wants you to wake up in time to see Boris’ downfall… for him.’

For him.

Why couldn’t he- Wait a minute. No, this isn’t happening. Nonononono… I refuse to believe it. Kai’s not going to die… is he? He can’t! It takes a lot more to take him down, and a hell lot more to take him _out_. He’s not going to die. I looked desperately to Dranzer for reassurance, that Kai was only being pessimistic about his situation. I had no idea why, but I was frantic with worry and disbelief. Something that had been suppressed and hidden for so long seemed to have suddenly sprung out from inside of me.

‘Kai gave his all against Brooklyn. He gave everything, and laid everything on the line,’ Wolborg replied instead of Dranzer. For some reason, the red phoenix seemed to be unable to look me in the eye. ‘Whether he won or lost, the outcome would have been the same.’

This is one big nightmare. I swear to whoever’s up there that I hate comas forever. Not only am I losing precious time in this semi-vegetative state, I’m going to lose a friend too!? This is not good. Not good at all.

‘Tell me you’re lying… tell me this is all a joke,’ I practically pleaded, looking at both spirits with disbelieving eyes.

They had to be lying. Or else they were looking too deep into the matter. Kai would come out fine. He’d been through the Abbey; he’d survived Black Dranzer, for heaven’s sakes! He and his team _saved the world_ once! He was trying to save the world again! Right now! He was a _**good person**_ ; he couldn’t die so early on.

I’m freaking out; my usually calm composure was totally cracked and broken. I didn’t even know why. And for some reason, I don’t quite care about that now.

‘Kai instructs me to save you, Tala,’ Dranzer cut through my thoughts with her soft voice.

Save me. Phoenixes, they have the power to…

 _ **Oh no, no, no.**_ Kai was _not_ going to play the hero and sacrifice himself this time. I’m perfectly fine, just in this damned coma. I’ll recover on my own. I _will_. I don’t care if I don’t see Boris’ downfall personally, though it would be nice. I’d definitely hear about it. I’ll bet that Tyson and the rest would come bouncing in and have a great hallelujah in the ward and disregard everything the doctors and nurses say. I will still _know_ about it, see? In fact, I quite look forward to hearing the doctors’ and nurses’ exasperation with the whole bunch of Beybladers. It’ll be amusing to say the least.

Dranzer spread her wings and suddenly everything around me became a bright reddish-orange. I started to feel a growing heat in my chest. Damn.

‘Dranzer! Don’t! I’m perfectly fine. Save Kai instead! I _know_ he needs you right now.’

‘I cannot disobey my master.’

‘This is life and death, damn it! It’s not a bey battle! If you don’t go back, Kai… Kai might not make it!’ I cried out exasperatedly.

Bit-beasts have been known to defy a master’s commands. Couldn’t Dranzer do that now? Through this warmth, I could feel a lingering cold somewhere. It felt like another life source was dying out somewhere at the same moment, simultaneously… **Kai!** He was growing weaker by the second. I had to make Dranzer stop this. But how could I get it through to her? Kai needed her more than I did. He was going to die; he was going to leave this world forever if she didn’t save _him_ instead of me. God! How can I make her see my way?

I took deep breaths to calm myself, all the while aware that Dranzer was doing something to save me. I’d need all my wits and all sorts of persuasive techniques in mind to try and change Dranzer’s mind.

‘Do not try to change my mind. I know what I have to do,’ Dranzer admonished sternly. Then in a gentler tone, she said, ‘This may hurt. Goodbye Tala. Wolborg.’

The phoenix then flew into the air, giving a last cry of triumph or sadness, I couldn’t tell, before turning into a glowing reddish-gold orb of pure, flaming energy. The orb hovered in mid-air for a few seconds and I watched it apprehensively, wondering what Dranzer was going to do. A beam of energy shot out from it and was aiming straight towards my chest. I had no time to dodge the beam and it struck me. I could feel the energy streaming into my body and pulsating through my veins and arteries. The warmth inside of me started to turn into a searing heat and I could feel my fingertips tingling. I’ve got to stop this. **Damn it!** Kai needs to be rescued more than I!

‘Look at this, Tala…’ a cooing voice resounded from all around me.

Instantaneously, images flashed in front of my eyes and thoughts that didn’t belong to me entered my head…

* * *

 _‘I did it. I’ve defeated Brooklyn…’ Kai thought as he made his way towards the tunnel that led to the locker rooms._

 _He was thoroughly exhausted. Only the will and the need not to show any weakness in front of his teammates before Tyson’s crucial and deciding match kept him going. He knew he could’ve called for Ray to help him – he was that energy-less – but that would worry them. And it would affect Tyson’s concentration…_

 _No. He **couldn’t** do that._

 _Kai continued to limp unsteadily into the tunnel that seemed so dark and endless. His footsteps echoed eerily against the walls. Each slow step made pain shoot up his weary body that was covered with countless cuts sustained from the battle and his knees were threatening to give any moment. He could barely keep himself upright and his body screamed at him to just fall to the ground to rest. The battle against Brooklyn was intense. The most intense one he ever had… and probably the last one he would ever have as a professional Beyblader._

 _He could feel that he was about to lose Dranzer and very possibly his own life too. But it didn’t really matter now; he had done what he could to stop Boris, though he was regretful that Dranzer had to be dragged down into the mess he could’ve prevented. She should have left when she could… She had so many opportunities…_

 _‘If only I had stopped Garland from injuring Tala,’ the slate-haired boy berated himself mentally as his steps became gradually slower and the time taken for him to move another foot considerably lengthened. ‘If only I could apologize to him personally…’_

 _But Kai knew it was impossible. He doubted that he could even make it to the locker room. The tunnel was starting to morph into an endless swirl of gray and black with flashing white. He blinked to clear the hallucination. However, his vision was just as blurry._

 _If that were the only regret he had, it probably would’ve been easier for him to leave without a word. But it wasn’t. He owned the Bladebreakers quite a bit too. They had tolerated him to some extent two years back when they had first formed the team. They had saved him from death on the thin ice of Baikal Lake. They encouraged him not to give up during his battle against Zeo and also after he had lost Dranzer… They believed in him even after he had betrayed them, even when he felt he didn’t deserve their friendship and forgiveness._

 _After all, he had been alone for so long, he was almost used to it… He had also forgotten about Balkov Abbey until that Russian World Championships. But the friendships made then in the stone walls of the Abbey had become very strained… So the Bladebreakers were really the last sunshine in his frigid life._

 _The more he thought about it, the more it was becoming difficult to breathe properly. Kai paused, urging himself mentally to move on. The locker room wasn’t much further; he knew it. But could he actually make it? He took another step forward, but it was too much for his body. As his vision swirled, his knees gave in and he collapsed onto the floor, head bowed, breaths coming in gasps and pants. He slumped against the cold, almost callous-like metallic wall, thoroughly washed out._

 _Kai didn’t bother to try getting up. ‘This is it. The beginning of my end,’ he thought grimly yet with hints of cynicism. He was mocking his ending. The great Kai Hiwatari… coming to such an end… An end caused by somebody he hadn’t even heard of at the start of the World Championships, and somebody he had actually managed to defeat. His opponents would probably be happy; they wouldn’t have to face him anymore. A bitter smile twisted his lips before it changed into a sad one…_

 _How he wished that he could’ve expressed his gratitude to the BBA Revolutions for showing him that there was more to the world he had thought… How he wished that he had treated his fellow Blitzkrieg Boys’ better instead of being so cold and distant towards them… They were his friends after all. They all had a past together… How he wished to know right now that Tala would wake up to see Boris’ plans fail… even if he himself couldn’t…_

 _Tala was the one who took the initiative to confront BEGA, although it was a rash decision. The Blitzkrieg Boys’ captain deserved to see what he was fighting for succeed. He **had to** see it. Kai knew it was his fault that Tala ended up in a coma… He had to make sure Tala would be able to see it… _

_It was the last thing he could do for… for his **friend** …_

* * *

‘Dranzer! Stop it… Stop it! Go back to Kai…’ I cried out as the images stopped momentarily. I was seeing and hearing through Kai’s perspective and… and he…

Kai, you are an idiot! I’m fine down here. And it’s not your fault that I’m in a coma! And though you were cold to us, didn’t teat us that well, etcetera, etcetera, _we_ didn’t do much better in treating you well or anything! We were basically just teammates that had to work together because there wasn’t much choice for either of us. It’s not totally your fault that it turned out this way! You don’t have to apologize! If you do, I’d have to apologize to you too! We own each other equally!

I wanted Kai to know all these right now. I wanted him to call back Dranzer. Let Dranzer save him, not me! I… I…

* * *

 _Sudden warmth alerted him to Dranzer’s presence. Kai looked up to see the majestic phoenix hovering above him, large wings providing him warmth in an environment that felt unusually cold… It was freezing him up. Yes. Dranzer… She could save Tala… She was a phoenix; she could resurrect and resuscitate people from the dead…_

 _‘Master, but you-’_

 _‘Save Tala. This is an order.’_

 _Dranzer cast him a sorrowful and forlorn look, cooing sadly. It made him feel all the guiltier. He was once again bring harm to another of his closest friends… He refused to think of Dranzer as just a tool, unlike how he did two years ago. Dranzer had stuck by him through thick and thin, and now… now he was practically asking her to die. He would’ve told her to leave him right now if he had the choice… but he had to make sure Tala would awake…_

 _God, he was a horrible master. Dranzer should’ve chosen someone else. Someone who would value her and take good care of her. He had done neither. He had given her up for Black Dranzer; he hadn’t been able to protect her – twice. And now… this. He was unworthy of being able to command such a great sacred spirit. Yet she always stuck by him… Why didn’t she ever want to leave? She would’ve been much better off._

 _‘You are a great master,’ Dranzer objected, wrapping her wings gently around him, holding him in a last embrace._

 _‘I’ll miss you Dranzer…’ Kai whispered. ‘And I’ll miss the BBA Revolutions too…’ Glancing up at Dranzer, his mouth curved upwards in a sad, resigned smile. “It’s just like me, just like me to leave without any notice, isn’t it? I’ve always been like that, haven’t I? And now, I’m going to leave once more and nobody will know until I’m gone… I’ve always suffered silently…”_

 _A glistening teardrop tinged with reddish-gold landed on his hand and it stayed there, in a perfectly round droplet. Sadness rippled in waves from the great phoenix._

 _Not bothering to look at Dranzer, for he knew he could not bear to do so, Kai told his bit-beast, his **friend** , as forcefully as he could, in his most authoritative voice he could muster, “Go now, Dranzer.”_

 _With a last sorrowful cry, Dranzer disappeared with a flap of her large wings, leaving him feeling cold once more. Kai raised his head upwards, and the air seemed to be shimmering and moving visibly. Faces formed in front of his eyes…_

 _A mop of disheveled red hair… Large cheerful green eyes in a wink… A cheeky and happy smile… The newest addition to BBA Revolution… Master of the second Dragon…_

 _  
**‘Daichi…’**   
_

_Long black hair tied in a long tail… A ying-yang symbol on a red bandana… Golden, feline-like eyes… A smile on the usually serious face… The White Tiger master…_

 _  
**‘Ray…’**   
_

_Blond hair… Large innocent blue eyes… An ever so friendly and cheerful smile for everyone… The ever-optimistic one of the team… The master of the Black Turtle…_

 _  
**‘Max…’**   
_

_Large glasses… Messy brown hair… Eyes that so far, nobody had ever seen… The ever-analytical one…_

 _  
**‘Kenny…’**   
_

_A red and blue cap worn backwards… Spiky, navy-blue hair… Dark auburn eyes that twinkled with joy and the prospect of a challenge… A wide and sincere smile… A thumbs up… The best of the best… The Blue Dragon master…_

 _  
**‘Tyson…’**   
_

_With the same smile on his face, he spoke to them although he knew they weren’t there. “Thank you… guys… for always sticking… by me… for accepting me… I won’t be able to… to see you succeed, but… but I believe… in you… I’m sorry… for leaving… without another word… But this, this… is goodbye Daichi, Ray, Max… Kenny… and, Tyson…”_

 _His strength was leaving him rapidly and keeping his eyes open was becoming increasingly difficult. He gave in to the temptation of sleeping, perhaps forever. His amethyst eyes shut gently, a tiny smile still curving his lips. It was worth it. The battle was worth it. He had done his best to set things right… Now he could rest… finally…_

 _‘Goodbye… Tala… my friend…’ he thought silently before darkness enveloped him._

* * *

The visions faded away with an indescribable certainty. No, this… this… couldn’t be true… It, it just _couldn’t be_! But for some indefinable reason, I knew… This was the end of Kai. But I can’t accept this… I, I just can’t. But it’s real. Reality is cruel. I learnt that long ago, since the tender age of five…

But now, the lesson has done a turnaround from my wretched past and slapped me harshly in the face once more… Everything inside of me was turning numb as the last bits of Dranzer’s energy was being transferred into me.

The image of a phoenix appeared in my mind.

 _Dranzer…_

Another image, one of a tall slate-haired teenage boy dressed in a deep purple jacket with a long trailing scarf appeared next.

 _Kai…_

The two images alternated… increasing in speed and frequency… They started to blend and merge… slowly… Soon, I couldn’t differentiate them anymore… It wasn’t only Dranzer. It was Kai too who had given me the power to awake. The two were almost one being, like Wolborg and I… Taking away Dranzer equaled to killing off Kai from the inside. And I… I had indirectly killed him…

Now, I finally understood why I was so frantic about Kai before… I had finally realized, after so long, that I actually still treated Kai as my friend. Deep down inside, hidden by many barriers of self-denial and feigned dislike. Like I’ve said before, this is the irony of realizations. They only happen in life-threatening situations… when you’ve lost something, someone…

Kai is my friend. And… he had said that I was his friend too… But this, these realizations have happened all too late. Why couldn’t we have seen this earlier? Why?

For god knows how long, I felt that strange prickling feeling down my spine connected to crying. I haven’t shed a tear in ages; I can’t remember when I last did. The Abbey had trained it out of me… forced it out of me. But now, the unfamiliar action of crying was hitting me full force after so long. The Abbey had done a good job in instilling that crying was one for the weak and I despised it as such. I tried to control them but to little effect.

Finally, I couldn’t help but let the tears overflow. They trickled down my face, leaving a wet streak. I didn’t bother to wipe them away. These tears were for both Kai and Dranzer…

“I… I’m so sorry…”

Wolborg licked my hand gently, but I barely felt the comforting gesture. As the tears trickled down, memories from the past resurfaced…

 _Two young boys playing in the snow… laughing… joking… having snowball fights…_

 _A lilac-haired boy pushing a shorter and younger purple-haired boy face down into the thick snow… A brunet, redhead and a blue-haired boy watching… amused smiles on their faces… carefree… happiness…_

 _A blue-haired boy quietly giving care and concern to an injured redhead… tending to the wounds… the tenderness… the unspoken comfort felt…_

I felt the last of Dranzer’s energy zap into me and the numbness that had already begun increased even more. More memories came pouring out from a repressed corner of my memory box… Black spots were starting to eat away my vision and as everything went black, one last image was left imprinted my mind:

Two gloved hands in a firm handshake.

* * *

Novia Korsakov was a nurse in the hospital. Currently, it was time for her to change shifts. But as she was passing Ward 546, she suddenly felt compelled to check up on the patient inside. But she wasn’t even a nurse in charge of that particular ward. However, she knew who was the patient, the famous Russian Beyblader Tala Ivanov. And she knew the general reason why he had landed in the hospital. Almost everyone in the hospital did. She wondered why she had a feeling that she had to go inside the ward. But the feeling was overwhelmingly strong and she gave into it and opened the door.

From the doorway, nothing seemed wrong with the redhead lying on the bed that was surrounded by much medical equipment. Numerous bandages covered the youth’s body and face. However, some invisible force drew her closer to the bed. It was then when she realized that tears had eked out of the redhead’s closed eyelids and were trailing down his pale skin.

Novia was surprised. There hadn’t been anyone in the ward… only an old man, Mr. Dickinson, who was checking on the teenager and then watching a Bey Battle in the room. Her gaze never quite wavered from the tears as she stood there deep in thought… _Why? Why is he crying? There has to be some stimuli._

Suddenly, Novia noticed that the beeping sounds were becoming increasingly irregular. Remembering the past conversations she had with her colleagues, she knew that the teen’s condition had been stable for about a week now and there were no detected complications. Worried about the sudden strange occurrence, she hurriedly checked the readings and was greatly appalled to find out that his heart rate was falling rapidly. This was very, very serious.

Without further ado, Novia dashed out of the ward to call the doctor-in-charge, mentally thanking whichever deity that had guided her into the ward.

* * *

“This is so sudden,” Dr. Hirota murmured to himself, as he and the nurses frantically tried to find out what was wrong with the red-haired youth.

The youth had been doing fine, he had even been starting to recover slowly. Everyone was puzzled by the cause of his sudden deterioration to the brink of death. What was worse was that the friends of the teen were watching them work with hawk-like gazes that threatened to burn a hole in their heads. The gazes were flaming, scarily so… but their eyes were frigid. But whenever the two pairs of eyes flicked to the redhead on the bed, worry would show through.

“What’s wrong with you people? Aren’t you supposed to be the best of them all?” Bryan finally snapped at the nurses in the ward.

He was stressed out enough when Tala was in a coma, wondering when his friend and team captain would awake, whether Tala would actually make it. At least then he was assured that Tala was in a stable condition, so there was still hope. But now, for some unknown reason that not even the _doctors_ could figure out, Tala was heading towards the jaws of death once more. Just like when he was first admitted to the hospital. The pressure was getting to Bryan and starting to leak. He was ready to take it out on the doctors if not for Spencer’s restraining hand on his shoulder.

“It’ll do Tala no good if you decide to mutilate the medical staff,” Spencer admonished in a whisper though his eyes never left the bed.

He too was sick with worry and his anger was simmering just below destruction line. But he had to keep a lid on it no matter how hard it was. If he lost it, Bryan would most definitely lose it too, and be totally destructive. Spencer couldn’t quite blame Bryan actually. He felt like shaking the doctors until their bones rattled in their body… What the hell went wrong? Why couldn’t they frigging figure it out?

Mr. Dickinson cast a sympathetic glance at the two Blitzkrieg Boys though neither youth noticed it. His gaze then turned back to Tala, though he could barely see the red-haired Russian. Tala was blocked by many of the nurses and machinery that surrounded the bed. He had earlier been in the ward, watching Kai’s battle against Brooklyn, and Tala had been fine.

Mr. Dickinson knew he was no expert in medicine, but he, for one, knew that there had to be a reason for this sudden deterioration… and he was half-inclined to believe that it wasn’t because of the doctor’s error in the medical report… The thought was quite interesting, and he was about to further think about it when:

 _BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP…_

Everything seemed to stop for a second.

Bryan felt his heartbeat hitch for a split second before it increased rapidly. No. That wasn’t… that wasn’t the sound of-

“His heart has stopped beating, doctor!” a nurse cried out.

Bryan let out a growl.

Spencer tightened his hold on Bryan’s shoulder and his emotions.

Mr. Dickinson clutched his walking stick unsteadily with both hands.

“We need to-” Dr. Hirota started when he was stopped short by what was happening to the body of the teenager.

Eyes everywhere widened.

A thin layer of reddish-gold aura had suddenly formed around Tala. It shimmered just slightly above his skin, creating an almost fiery, ethereal look. The temperature of the ward also increasing. None of the medical personnel could understand what was happening to Tala, but the two Blitzkrieg Boys and Mr. Dickinson found the coloring of the aura and the corresponding temperature change especially familiar.

“D-Dranzer?” Spencer asked in a whisper to nobody in particular as he stared at Tala. His feet automatically moved to take him closer to the bed where the heat was the most intense. He saw Bryan follow him from the corners of his vision. The doctors and nurses didn’t do anything to stop them.

The medical personnel were too awestruck and mesmerized by the appearance of the aura. It was something supernatural… that medical science definitely couldn’t explain… The sudden increase in room temperature did nothing to shake them out of their trance too.

“I don’t believe this…” Bryan muttered after a few minutes, blinking once to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Maybe he should pinch himself. The machine monitoring Tala’s heart rate was _starting to move_ again. He glanced at Spencer and his belief was confirmed:

Nope. He wasn’t hallucinating.

He turned his gray eyes back to the redhead. The aura around Tala was now slowly fading away and the heat was becoming more bearable. Bryan decided that, for once, he was truly happy about Kai’s existence.

This change in both temperature and Tala’s condition brought back life to the medical staff, effectively shaking them out of their trance. The nurses were murmuring to themselves about a miracle (some even looked like they were about to cry) and the doctor was happy enough that the two other teenagers didn’t look like they were about to kill. To kill him would be more specific.

Mr. Dickinson let out a sigh of relief, feeling that all his leg muscles had gone lax. Tala had made it… somehow. He was willing to bet that Dranzer had helped in it.

They were then even more surprised when they heard:

“ **Tala?** You’re awake!”

* * *

What in the world was this? A welcoming back party? I had just woken up, _really woken up_ , and I find myself looking up with one eye at a surprised but immensely relieved Bryan and Spencer. Then sounds of quiet weeping alerted me to the presence of a sudden increase in nurses in the ward. What? And the doctor looked extremely relieved too… Oh and so did Mr. Dickinson, though he bordered a bit more towards the happy side.

“W-What… happened?” I asked, my voice sounding cracked.

Must be from the lack of use.

“This is _truly_ a miracle,” the doctor muttered. And I turned my eye that wasn’t covered by… probably bandages… to look at him, silently demanding for an answer. I guess I still retained some of my ability to scare people even in this state for the doctor replied promptly.

“Your heart rate had suddenly fallen and we were trying our best to stabilize your condition. Then your heart completely stopped beating. It was then when, when this strange reddish-gold aura surrounded you and minutes later, your heart started to beat again and you woke up!”

Reddish-gold aura…

Isn’t that like… like…?

Dranzer…

Kai…

 **Kai!**

“W-where… is Kai?”

No response.

“W-where is he!?”


	4. Epilogue

It’s strange how everything turned out. It’s been three days since I awoke, and for the length of three days, I’ve been asking the doctor to let me out of the ward so I could visit Kai. I had been healing quickly, much to the medical staff’s surprise. I had just simply stated that I had always been a fast healer – the Abbey did toughen me up by a great lot. But I knew that it also had something to do with Dranzer. The phoenix saved me after all…

And you heard me right. Kai’s alive.

Barely.

Apparently Miguel had found Kai crumpled on the floor, head bowed and his side against the tunnel wall. According to the European blond teenager, Kai was dripping blood from almost everywhere and the red, life-giving substance was pooling around the injured youth who currently looked like he was a casualty of World War III.

Which he very well might be. I had watched the replay of his battle against Brooklyn. It was one hell of a match. Brutal was probably the only word I could think of to describe it. Anyway, back to how Kai was found.

Next to the slate-haired youth lay a tiny mountain of shredded and cracked metallic bits, which, no doubt to anyone, were the remains of Dranzer Metal Spiral. There had been no sign of the phoenix bit chip, probably having shattered along with the rest of the blade. Miguel had then frantically called for an ambulance and it was said that Kai had already stopped breathing.

But he survived after some emergency treatment. I was more than relieved. It really needed a lot more to take Kai totally out…

But still, it’s so strange seeing him lying motionless in the bed, with countless bandages covering him… He looked _vulnerable_. Something that he had never looked like in ages… And how would I know that he looked like that? Well, I had finally persuaded Dr. Hirota _and_ Mr. Dickinson to allow me to visit Kai, although they restricted my time, stating that I needed my rest. I could only see Kai for a maximum of an hour. They’d send a nurse to get me back to my own room once the hour was up.

And so, I was currently standing (had already been standing for five minutes), albeit using crutches, by Kai’s bedside alone, staring down at him. Bryan and Spencer had volunteered to come along with me after unsuccessfully dissuading me from doing so, but I had told them not to. I wanted to be alone.

I continued to look at Kai’s heavily bandaged face.

It was so wrong. It was so wrong that Kai had landed in a coma… Like I did. I guess you could say that we shared similar experiences. If that were so, would he hear me? Like I had heard him when he came? I have to try. But what should I say? It’s been so long since I had been able to actually speak to Kai privately and also of such a nature, a more _sentimental_ nature… We grew up together and were really close, yes… but we’ve never been the touchy-feely kind.

“Hello, Kai…” I started, trying to ignore the nagging thought of how ridiculous it was to actually talk to someone who was very obviously unconscious. Well, the other bladers had talked to me when I was in a coma and I had heard them. Heard everything they said, in fact. There was a chance that Kai would hear me now too.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I could do this. I _could_ tell Kai that I really didn’t want to seem to be at loggerheads with him all the time… that I want to be friends with him again… and how darn stupid he was to sacrifice Dranzer to save me. It wasn’t going to be easy to say all that out aloud. It never would be as the walls of ice had been around me for a long time. Both of us had been hiding. Tearing the shields down all at once was going to be difficult, and in front of Kai no less… Both of us had a lot of pride, and although in the past, he _was_ my friend; we were rivals too. We rarely admitted defeat to each other. But I know, I **know** I _can_ do this.

“Look Kai, I don’t know if you can hear me. If you can… just listen,” I started again. “I’ve realized that I’ve been so _stupid_ for years. I’ve been fooling myself. Boris’ brainwashing, his twisted reasoning of why you left, had blinded me. He wanted to make me hate you; he couldn’t stand our friendship… And you know what? I despise myself for actually believing that slime ball. It was my fault mainly. How _could_ I have let such a strong friendship that had been built up and been through the harsh Russian winters and countless grueling Abbey trainings go to waste by a few lies Boris cooked up? I think I had forced myself to believe those lies and even when the truth came to light, I still didn’t want to believe that you didn’t leave of your own accord…”

A faraway look came into my eyes as they found the window. A wistful smile curled my lips. “Do you remember how we first met, Kai? We were both six, but I had been in the Abbey a year earlier…”

* * *

 _The solid metal door of the small and dim dormitory room swung open. Six-year-old Tala Ivanov looked towards the doorway curiously from his bed. It was night, past the 8pm curfew for those his age already. He wondered who could be coming in. It couldn’t be a recruit; he shared the room with nobody. Although there **was** an extra bed inside. But most rooms had two recruits sleeping in them anyway._

 _Two figures appeared at his doorway. One was a guard working in the abbey while the other was a blue-haired boy he didn’t recognize. Tala took a quick scrutiny of the child, noticing that the most striking thing about the boy was the four blue triangles that contrasted with his pale skin. In time to come, these blue markings would make the boy feared to all who saw him._

 _“This is the new recruit. He will be sleeping in this room,” the guard said in a monotone before roughly pushing the blue-haired boy inside and slamming the door shut. A soft click told Tala that the door was now locked from the outside._

 _His azure eyes surveyed the boy in front of him, neither speaking yet. Tala still hadn’t seen the other boy’s eyes yet – his blue bangs were shadowing them and he wasn’t looking in Tala’s direction. Usually a person’s eyes told millions about him and by now, Tala was used to judging a person based on their eyes… However, Tala was feeling strangely intrigued by this mysterious new recruit and decided to try and make some conversation with him. And perhaps even make a friend too._

 _“Hey. I’m Tala. What’s your name?” he said, genuinely sincere about trying to make friends with the blue-haired boy._

 _The boy jolted slightly before raising his head to look at him straight in the eye. Then, Tala noticed the glowing fire burning in the boy’s mahogany eyes that were now revealed. He felt the power and passion that were ablaze in those eyes. Being as young as he was, Tala could somehow tell that the boy in front of him had a great fervor for Beyblading and possessed great talent too. Much like him._

 _The two young boys held each other’s intense gazes for a minute or so before they both broke it simultaneously. Tala marveled at the other’s ability to hold his gaze before wondering to himself whether the other boy would actually speak to him. The redhead was about to give up on getting a reply when the boy spoke up quietly but in a strong voice:_

 _“Kai. Nice to meet you.”_

 _Tala smiled, as did Kai._

 _With just those few words and the simple actions, the first bonds of friendship between both six-year-olds were formed._

\---

“We didn’t talk much that night. But we became friends, friends that respected each other just like that… and the Abbey only served to bring our ties closer.” I looked back at Kai and said after taking a trip down memory lane to the particular memory I had been talking about.

“You know, after you disappeared, I had constantly blamed myself for not being able to stop you from entering the lab. You were so fascinated by Black Dranzer that I felt _afraid_ for you…”

* * *

 _“Where are you going, Kai?” Tala asked suddenly from where he lay on his bed. It was very late at night now, but he couldn’t sleep peacefully. Not with Kai acting so strange ever since seeing the scientists tested out their newest Beyblade three days ago. Kai had been totally mesmerized by it… and Tala had to agree why._

 _Black Dranzer was totally **perfect**. Flawless. There hadn’t been any Beyblade that was as magnificent as this one in decades. The spin rate was fast and steady. It had perfect balance at high velocity. Changing directions with it were sharp and precise. And when it met with opposing blades, the sheer power and slickness of the destruction it created captivated many. _

_Unfortunately, “many” included Kai._

 _“Somewhere,” the blue-haired boy replied vaguely._

 _Tala felt that his worst fears had been confirmed. For the past three days, Kai had been talking non-stop about Black Dranzer – whenever he spoke that is. And Tala could see this glint in those mahogany eyes that told him that Kai would do whatever it took to be able to test out the black and green blade. But it was risky. Too risky. Neither of them had mastered full control over their own blades and bit-beasts yet… Black Dranzer was out of bounds to them and all other students. Even the seniors who, no doubt, had more experience under their belt._

 _“You’re not going to test out Black Dranzer,” he said sternly, though not getting up from his bed to face his friend._

 _“You can’t stop me, Tala.”_

 _“You’ll get yourself found out.”_

 _“I won’t. I’m only spinning it for a while.”_

 _“You won’t be able to control it.”_

 _“I won’t know unless I try.”_

 _“What if Boris finds out?”_

 _“He won’t. You don’t have to worry about me.”_

 _Tala finally sat up, swinging his legs onto the floor. Kai was already at the door and was just short of opening it. Kai had been very quiet, but Tala’s sharp senses had sensed his movements. Had Tala been a little later in speaking, Kai would’ve left without anyone knowing, or more precisely, before anyone could stop him for Tala certainly knew his friend very well to be able to detect him._

 _Fixing an icy cold stare on the blue-haired boy’s back, he almost commanded, “You are **not** leaving this room.”_

 _Whipping his head around, Kai fired a heated glare at Tala although it didn’t have much effect on the redhead. “ **Nobody** orders me around, Tala. You know that better than anyone.” Then softening his fiery gaze, Kai added, “See you later, Tala.” Then he slipped out of the room before Tala could make a sound to protest._

 _The nine-year-old redhead never expected that it would be **five years** later before he next saw his blue-haired friend._

* * *

“Five years is certainly a long time… And when we next met, I was already poisoned by all those wrong thoughts about you. And you had changed, although you still carried the burning passion for Beyblading… and the same defiance for authority. You were different. Colder and much deadlier than before. You were under Black Dranzer’s influence too. You wanted nothing to do with us… you just wanted Black Dranzer and all the power you could obtain. Right?”

“Then I started to dislike you even more because of your attitude change. I still had some minuscule hope that you would return to the team because you wanted to blade with us, but that flicker of hope was crushed. When you returned to the Bladebreakers afterwards, I felt even more betrayed. I mean, who wouldn’t?”

“It was probably a hell lot worse with Boris around poisoning minds,” I added as an afterthought.

It was true. That bastard is just pure evil. I think he’s the improved (though not for the better) version of Satan’s incarnation. Though I don’t think the devil himself might have had gross purple hair and a taste for some strange goggles or visor… _Whatever_. Everyone has a certain fashion sense… though Boris’ is _seriously_ warped. But for someone like him, it isn’t too surprising.

“Those of us from the Abbey don’t trust easily, which made me reluctant to believe the truth about you. Now that I think of it, it was a foolish mistake. I still don’t understand how I had let our friendship disintegrate, let it be suppressed and hidden by my own self-denials and the icy outlook I carried. But you could’ve seen through me pretty easily. Don’t you find it ironic? How the Abbey and Boris seem to strengthen our friendship instead of weakening it? And when Boris doesn’t interfere, we seem to grow distant? Strange, eh?”

Kai’s bandaged face continued to face me silently and I wished I could see him open his eyes, or eye, seeing that the right one is covered by the bandages around his head. I gave a little sigh, what would it take to make him awake?

Glancing back at the same window, I asked him, “Remember the incident where Boris tried to separate us using a Bey Battle…?”

* * *

 _It had been a month since Tala and Kai had been given different training schedules. Both boys hadn’t had time to so much as glance at each other during the hectic and grueling days at Balkov Abbey. Both had been drilled with ideas that Boris wanted them to adopt to change them into soldiers without conscience. It had worked with most boys, but not Kai and Tala._

 _Both boys talked to each other during the night in their room. This helped them retain some conception of what they thought was right or wrong about the ideas that were constantly repeated to them. Though bright for their age, both boys were still children, making them uncomprehending to why they had to block out all emotion and treat all opponents as enemies that they had to thoroughly destroy. However, both boys had made a mutual agreement to act like they were supposed to in public._

 _Then came the day where Tala found himself pitted against Kai in a battle…_

 _“Tala Ivanov!” Boris Balkov barked at the seven-year-old redhead._

 _Tala immediately walked towards the Abbey’s director and gave him a smart salute. “Present Boris, sir!”_

 _“Ready, aren’t you? Well, your opponent today will be…”_

 _A sinister smirk that Tala didn’t like at all curled Boris’ thin lips as the man paused for dramatic effect._

 _“Kai Hiwatari!”_

 _Tala suppressed a gasp of shock and kept his expression blank, knowing that if he showed any emotion, Boris would punish him harshly. Tala was all but happy about the prospect of facing Kai. He wasn’t afraid of losing to Kai; he knew that they were evenly matched. But Tala couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it._

 _“Yes, sir.”_

 _“I am looking forward to your battle against young Kai, Tala. It will be… **interesting.** ”_

 _Five minutes later, Tala was facing Kai opposite a dish. From Kai’s stoic expression, nobody could tell that the blue-haired boy was just as apprehensive about the battle as Tala. But to Tala, it was quite easy to read that. Both boys shared a quick glance at each other before their battle began. It was to be a ‘best of three’ match._

 _Both boys were told the same thing before the battle started: “He is your enemy. Crush him! Do not show him mercy!”_

 _The first battle went underway soon enough and in a matter of minutes, Tala had knocked Kai’s blade out. But for the second battle, Kai won instead, which left the third and final battle as the decider._

 _As the third battle begun, Tala used all the skills he had learnt and all his wit and cunning to battle Kai. The redhead could also tell that Kai was doing the same. Thus far, this was the battle that they had been the most evenly matched. Although Tala knew Wolborg was built for endurance, Kai had an attacking power that could seriously break through its endurance limit. Simultaneously, the two young boys went full out on offense._

 _“Attack Dranzer!”_

 _“Go Wolborg!”_

 _The sheer force of the collision created cracks in the dish, however, both blades were still spinning steadily. Tala could feel the adrenaline rushing through him and his heart rate was increasing far more rapidly than usual. He felt surging power inside him. Something wanted to be released. Not comprehending, he almost panicked. He looked across at Kai and was startled to find the boy having a red aura surrounding him. He soon realized that Kai was looking at him in the same startled manner._

 _“What are you two doing? **Crush your opponent!** ” Boris’ voice rang out, effectively snapping both boys out of their trance._

 _“Wolborg! **BLIZZALOG!** ”_

 _“Dranzer! **FIRE ARROW!** ”_

 _Tala watched, suddenly fascinated, as his gray beyblade glowed blue and from the bit chip, a beam of white light shone out and a winged, gray Siberian wolf appeared with an eerie howl. He then noticed that a flaming red phoenix had appeared out of Kai’s cobalt blade, which was currently surrounded with dancing flames._

 _The two beasts charged at each other, the wolf leaving a trail of ice in its wake while the phoenix left the dish scorching and smoking. A clash of two conflicting elements ensued. Ice versus Fire. Tala felt the power inside of him rushing out, and he had the notion that it was due to the wolf. Then there was an explosion, which made every one present shield their eyes._

 _When the light cleared, both blades had stopped spinning and were lying idly on their sides in a wracked dish. There was no sign of either beast. Tala was speechless, not over the tie, but over the mysterious happenings during this battle and why he was beginning to feel exhausted after a battle. Perhaps his apprehension wasn’t unfounded after all. But it was clear to the young boy that the result hadn’t gone down well with Boris._

 _“A tie? Unacceptable!” the man roared. “Guards! Take them to the underground cells!”_

 _Tala knew which cells Boris was referring to. It had to be the punishment chambers. He didn’t move as two cloaked guards approached him. However when he saw another guard hitting Kai because the blue-haired boy didn’t want to move, he growled, “Don’t hit him!”_

 _It earned Tala a biting backhand. “Shut up!” the same guard barked menacingly._

 _Tala bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out. He turned back to the guards and glared at them, blue eyes freezing into icy glacial chips. Even at such a young age, Tala was beginning to master the art of scaring the wits out of others with a simple look. The abbey guards hesitated for a second before grabbing the redhead’s arms and dragging him out of the Beyblading arena. Tala could also see Kai being forcibly dragged away and scowled at how the guards were treating his friend._

 _The two boys were separated in the depths of the abbey, both being whipped. Tala winced as the stinging lashes tore through his clothes and cut his skin. Albeit such circumstances, he was more worried about Kai, knowing that the boy’s behavior earlier would earn him a much harsher punishment. As the guards continued to beat him, using their fists and feet this time, Tala took his mind off the pain that shot up through his body and focused his thoughts on Kai. But time and again, a particularly painful hit would jolt him out of it and his young self would feel the agonizing punishment._

 _When the beatings finally stopped, Tala was left panting heavily on the dirty, cold stone floor. His wounds were bleeding and bruises were forming on his torso. Still, he was anxious to know about Kai. Knowing that the guards would not allow him to see his friend, Tala pretended to be only half-conscious, hoping that the guards would forget to lock the door. Luck was on his side as he saw through half-lidded eyes that the guards left without even a backwards glance at him or the other cell. After a minute or so, Tala felt safe enough to try and get to Kai._

 _The young boy lithely slid out of his own cell, ignoring the protesting of his body and entered the next cell apprehensively. Through his blue eyes, he saw with some relief that Kai, though covered with about as many cuts and bruises as himself, looked otherwise fine._

 _“Kai!” Tala hissed softly and worriedly as he scrambled over to where the other boy was sitting, leaning against the wall. The redhead felt like flinching as he saw a particularly nasty whip lash across his friend’s stomach._

 _Kai looked up at him with slightly glazed eyes before they widened. “Tala? How did you…?”_

 _“Stupid guards didn’t lock the doors,” the flame-haired boy replied, rolling his eyes at the idiocy of the guards. “Are you all right?”_

 _“I’m fine… You shouldn’t come here. If they find out, you’re going to be in big trouble.”_

 _“Who cares? I had to make sure you were fine. Friends have to stick together.”_

 _Kai cracked a smile at the last comment and Tala soon felt a similar smile curving his lips too._

 _“We’ll always stick together no matter what Boris tries to do,” Kai affirmed. “Forever.”_

 _“Forever,” Tala repeated firmly._

 _This time, large and genuine grins broke out on both the faces of the seven-year-olds. It was a promise that they would seek to keep and never break._

* * *

“It’s been ages since we’ve considered each other as friends since your departure from the Abbey,” I mused, “And now, because of Boris, those hidden ties of our friendship have resurfaced. Perhaps we should thank him for this. He’d take it that we were mocking him anyway. So he’d still be our nemesis.”

I paused for a moment to catch my breath and also to prepare myself.

“We’ve looked out for each other since young, Kai. The last time I looked out for you was just before the first Black Dranzer incident… Which meant you owned me a favor. We’ve always worked this way. But you’ve repaid that last favor with far too much during your moments in the tunnel. How? How could you have sacrificed your life to save mine? I… I don’t know what you were thinking then. Why did you place me before your own life? Why, Kai? _Why?_ ”

This was one thing I was afraid of – losing my composure. There was nobody else around, but up till now, it still scares me to crack and breakdown. Stopping for another moment, I took another deep breath before continuing. I had decided beforehand that even if I had to be more emotional than usual, I would not crack.

“I still don’t get why you wanted me to see Boris fail. I’d love to see that happen, you got that right, but at the expense of your life? I know I’ve missed _millions_ after being kept in the Abbey for ten years, but I’ve been slowly catching up. Yet I still don’t understand why you would sacrifice yourself. I want explanations, Kai. And to have them, you, you have to awake. I want you to wake up, Kai! You just _have to_. It’s not only for me; think of your other friends. The BBA Revolutions, they’ve stuck by you through tough times too… I don’t know _what_ they were, but I know enough that they care a lot about you. They don’t want to see you like this. Isn’t that enough reason for you to wake up? You work by rational reasoning, and I’ve provided you with enough reasons… _Why won’t you wake up?_ ”

Damn it. I want him to open his eye and shoot back some sarcastic comment about me becoming overly sappy. I want to be able to argue with him over minor things like during the World Championships. _Why the hell can’t you just_ , I censored my thoughts, _wake up?_

“This sounds totally like it’s coming from some melodrama, but I have to say it to you. I don’t care if you blackmail me with it next time. I want to be your friend again. I want us to be like when we were young, maybe not exactly like then, but I want that kind of trust we used to have. I want to relearn what being a friend truly means…”

The prickling feeling was back once again and I fought internally not to let any tears show. It was becoming difficult, but I had to finish what I want to say.

“If I could control time, I’d turn it back; all the way to when I made that rash decision to confront Boris at BEGA. It was a stupid idea. If I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t have battled Garland. Wouldn’t have landed in a coma and wouldn’t need you to sacrifice Dranzer to save me…”

“…We promised to stick together. And you can’t break that promise. We’ve had it on hiatus for years, and it’s time to put it back on track. So… Kai, you’ve got to wake up. I’ve listed enough reasons, but I have one more. Here’s one more to convince you. Haven’t we always been defying Boris whenever we’re together? Let’s do it again. I’ve done my part, and now, I’m waiting for you to do yours. Throw it in the idiot’s face. Show him that we, you, can defy whatever he gives us and throw it back at him with a vengeance. You defeated his ‘prized possession’, that’s salt to the wounds already. Now… just, god damn it, wake up, will ya?”

“Your element is fire. Dranzer is a phoenix that’s linked to rebirth and resurrection. You and Dranzer are one. Why did you sacrifice her to save me? You were such a fool! You needed her so much more than I did! You meant well by asking Dranzer to save me, but don’t you know that I actually feel even guiltier? I practically killed you! If you don’t wake up, I don’t think I can ever forgive myself!”

My vision was starting to acquire a watery blurriness. I lowered my head; still trying to fight back the damn drops of water. One teardrop, however, managed to trickle out and it fell from my eye and landed on Kai’s left hand over a part of his skin that I just noticed had a reddish tint to it. It didn’t look like a burn, but nothing more registered in my mind. Another teardrop fell from my eye, landing at the exact same spot. I shut my eyes in an effort to shut out the tears.

A few minutes later, I raised my head, feeling a little awkward to be crying once more, to look at Kai’s face for the umpteenth time, hoping for a reaction from him.

My eyes widened.

I blinked.

Twice.

Thrice.

Contemplated pinching myself.

Did so.

Yep. What I was seeing was real, as unreal as it sounded. A few teardrops were making their way down Kai’s left eye. Which meant only one thing: He had heard me and understood what I was talking about.

“Kai-”

At that moment, the door opened slowly, almost tentatively and a nurse popped her head in. “M- Mr. Ivanov?”

I sighed. One hour could pass so rapidly. It didn’t even feel like an hour to me. Straightening up, I blinked back any remaining tears before turning away from Kai’s bed. One glance at the nurse I knew that she had heard some parts of the conversation I had with Kai. Her eyes were bloodshot though the tears had dried up. Ignoring that, I walked out of the ward, the nurse sniffling a little and followed me back to my own ward to rest.

Rest? I don’t need it.

I just want to see him awake with my own eyes.

* * *

In the now empty ward where Kai Hiwatari lay, something miraculous was happening. The two drops of tears from Tala were reacting with the mark left by Dranzer’s teardrop. A soft red glow spread from the hand until it covered every part of the teenager. The temperature increased by a few degrees. Then all was still…

One minute…

Two minutes…

His fingers twitched.


End file.
